Power transmissions are employed in vehicle powertrains to provide a plurality of ratio changes between the engine and a transmission output generally comprised of a differential mechanism. The transmission takes many different forms. The earliest of the transmissions were generally countershaft-type transmissions for use in passenger vehicles, which gave way partially to automatically shifted planetary-type transmissions and to some continuously variable transmissions, particularly belt and pulley mechanisms, as well as electrical and hydraulic mechanisms.
There is a desire to reduce the overall size of the transmission in order to save real estate under the hood or in the rear of the vehicle where the transmission and/or the engine are located. In front wheel drive transverse powertrain applications, the linear distance or dimension of the powertrain is of importance.